1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an embroidery pattern processing apparatus which processes a plurality of embroidery patterns defined by a plurality of sets of embroidery data.
2. Related Art Statement
There is known an automatic sewing machine which reads, under control of a controller thereof, a set of embroidery data including X- and Y-direction feed data which in advance are prepared and stored in a recording medium such as a read only memory (ROM) card, and which machine forms an embroidery pattern into a work sheet, i.e., individual stitches by moving a sewing needle and a work sheet-supporting holder relative to each other in accordance with the X- and Y-direction feed data and concurrently vertically oscillating the sewing needle.
For forming an embroidery pattern, such as an alphabetic letter or an illustration, with the above-indicated sewing machine, an operator needs to insert a ROM card in a reading device incorporated in the sewing machine, subsequently adjust the position of the work sheet or work-sheet holder relative to the sewing needle, thereby establishing the position of sewing of the embroidery pattern on the work sheet, and operate a selecting device of the sewing machine for selecting a set of embroidery data for the embroidery pattern.
However, the conventional sewing machine is not capable of concurrently reading a plurality of sets of embroidery data from a plurality of separate ROM cards. For forming a combined embroidery patterns selected from two or more separate ROM cards, the operator first needs to finish the formation of an embroidery pattern selected from a ROM card at an established sewing position on a work sheet and subsequently form another or second embroidery pattern selected from another ROM card inserted in place of the prior ROM card after having established the sewing position of the second pattern relative to the first pattern on the work sheet. In the case where the operator wishes to form a combined embroidery patterns by alternately using two patterns respectively stored in two separate ROM cards, the operator needs to repeat the alternate insertions of the two ROM cards in the reading device of the sewing machine and repeat the work for adjusting the work sheet or work-sheet holder relative to the sewing needle and thereby establishing the sewing position of each alternate pattern on the work sheet.
Normally, a number of sets of embroidery data are stored in a single ROM card. However, some sets of embroidery data are used seldom or even never. Thus, it is time- and energy-wasting to scan all the sets of embroidery data stored in a ROM card each time a set of embroidery data which is often used is used. In addition, the conventional sewing machine is not capable of editing embroidery patterns stored in two or more separate ROM cards. When a new ROM card is inserted in the sewing machine in place of a prior ROM card, it is very difficult to determine the sewing position of a following pattern selected from the new card relative to that of a preceding pattern selected from the prior card, because the preceding pattern has been erased from a display of the selecting device. Since the sewing machine is not capable of concurrently reading sets of embroidery data from separate ROM cards, the operator needs to change the ROM cards frequently. In addition, since the sewing machine stores the selected set or sets of embroidery data in an internal memory incorporated therein, the operator needs to repeat, on a different sewing machine, the same pattern-selecting work and same sewing position-establishing work for forming the same combined embroidery patterns as the previously formed ones.